This invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing shrimp, fish and the like. In one aspect the invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing so-called Rock Shrimp which has been de-headed but the shell is still attached.
Rock Shrimp (i.e., Sicyonia Breviorstris, a member of the Penaeidae family) is a species of shrimp which has a very hard shell. Even though the flesh or meat of Rock Shrimp is quite tasty, there has been little or no commercial market therefor, primarily because of the limited availability of apparatus capable of automatically processing it at reasonable production rates. U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,740, issued Feb. 25, 1975, discloses a method and apparatus for automatically processing Rock Shrimp. The present invention provides improvements to the method and apparatus disclosed in that patent, particularly with regard to the effectiveness of removing all extraneous debris from the shrimp, such as the sand vein or alimentary canal, roe and the like.